Faith In Action of Monroe County welcomes new director

Posted

Former Miss America Heather French Henry once said, “Volunteering is at the very core of being a human. No one has made it through life without someone else’s help.” Faith In Action Volunteers of Monroe County’s new executive director, Connie Wastlund, has been volunteering her whole life. 

“My dad would always be volunteering, doing this and that and so I grew up thinking that’s just what you do,” Wastlund said, adding that she has volunteered with several different organizations throughout her life. “Being able to have a job that focuses on volunteering is like the best of both worlds.”

Faith In Action is a faith-based, nondenominational volunteer program designed to help individuals put their faith to work by helping neighbors in need throughout Monroe County. Its mission is to help elderly and disabled residents of Monroe County remain independent in their homes for as long as safely possible.

“Oftentimes it’s a catastrophic event that will send someone to a nursing home,” Wastlund said. “But a lot of the time if they had someone to help them with the little day-to-day stuff, they could stay safely in their homes, and that’s what we do.”

Volunteers assist care recipients with transportation to medical appointments, grocery shopping and delivery, friendly home visits, moving, minor home repairs, running errands, lawn mowing and more.

Wastlund has only been with Faith In Action for a month now, but she claims that out of all of the jobs she’s held in her life, this is her favorite.

“Everybody is in it for the purpose it exists with no ulterior motives, no politics, no game playing,” she said. “Everybody is just here to help each other out and it’s incredible.”

Wastlund added that the organization has a strong core group of volunteers that she can rely on to help whenever she needs them to. “I have a large pool of volunteers I can pull from on different levels,” she said. 

Faith In Action collaborates with local organizations and social service agencies for the needs of care recipients. Volunteers have assisted individuals through referrals from Hospice and Palliative Care, Tomah Memorial Hospital, Gundersen Health System, Mayo Clinic Health System, Monroe County Senior Services and Social Services, Tomah Schools, Monroe County Churches, nursing homes, assisted living communities and the VA.   

“The success of Faith In Action is based on the people and organizations in Monroe County and its communities,” Wastlund said. “Our success is a representation of just how amazing this area is. I’m blown away everyday by people who apologize because they can’t be more helpful.” 

The nonprofit organization receives no government funding. It operates solely on donations from churches and individuals as well as two small community grants that are re-applied for annually.

For purposes of the grants, Wastlund must track all of the volunteer’s hours and mileage and oversee a lot of data. She will also be responsible for coordinating volunteers and care recipients. 

This spring, Faith In Action will celebrate 25 years of operation. According to Wastlund, a majority of the organization's volunteers and care recipients are from Tomah, simply because that is where the office location is.

Early in 2022, Wastlund would like to get out into the rest of the county to set up informational meetings and expand the organization’s outreach to some of the smaller communities in Monroe County.

“I’d like to reach out to those communities where we don’t have much of a presence right now,” she said, “while strengthening the base we have here.”

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here